Comancheros
Generally with John Wayne, the rule of thumb was the better the director that he had to work with, the better the film itself would turn out to be. This release from 1961 saw Wayne teaming up with Michael (Casablanca) Curtiz, who ironically was dying from cancer during filming, prompting Wayne himself to take over the director’s chair on certain days when Curtiz was feeling too sick to go to set that day. Wayne plays a Texas Ranger who apprehends a fugitive (Stuart Whitman) for killing another man in a duel over in Louisiana, only to have him escape and then later meet back up with him while working undercover to bring down the title criminal gang who are dealing arms to the Comanche Indians which are then being used to kill settlers. Of course the problem with the script is that it is relatively schizophrenic, not being able to decide if it wants to focus on the antagonistic relationship between Wayne and Whitman or on the pursuit of the gang itself, but that is softened somewhat by another good supporting cast that includes (the very hot) Ina Balin as the gang leader’s daughter who falls for Whitman and decides to leave with him; Nehemiah Persoff as the crippled, wheelchair bound gang leader; Lee Marvin getting about 20 minutes to steal the show as the gang’s contact man sporting a large scar on his head from nearly being scalped; along with some old reliables such as Michael Ansara, Jack Elam, and Henry Daniell. In the co-leading role, Whitman brings almost a James Bond quality to the film, eventually coming to team up with Wayne to work undercover with him and getting the villain’s daughter to fall in love with him and thus “turn good” in the process. This is also coupled with a fine music score by Elmer Bernstein and good cinematography to boot, with the only real issue being that the whole affair just kind of leaves you cold in the end, though not necessarily boring, as the story goes through its motions and entertains well enough while not really achieving greatness. Overall though, another must-see for fans of The Duke…
7/10